Rivet setting tools



1964 R. M. ELLIOTT ETAL 3,154,210

RIVEIT SETTING TOOLS Filed Nov. 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inven tors Richard MEZZz'o it Raymond M YFernbZay By their/1 ztqrney mf/tfaa.

1964 R. M. ELLIOTT ETAL 3,

RIVET SETTING TOOLS Filed Nov. 13, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,154,210 RIVET SEITING TGOLS Richard M. Elliott, Beverly, and Raymond M. Tremblay, Whitman, Mass, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Nov. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 323,388 Claims. (Cl. 218-42) This invention relates generally to rivet setting tools, and has particular reference to a manually operable riveting tool for setting separable mandrel rivets of the pullto-set type.

One disadvantage of previously known tools of this type has been the weight and complexity necessary to pr0 vide adequate gripping and pulling power by manual operation, particularly when the tool is designed for setting rivets having various sizes of mandrels.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved hand tool for installing rivets of this type which is simple and economical to construct, yet is easily operated to set such rivets in various sizes.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tool of the type described which has an improved form of mandrel gripping means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tool of the type described in which the mandrel gripping mechanism is readily accessible for adjustment or repair in case of jamming during separation of mandrels from their rivets.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, of a rivet setting tool embodying the features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in section taken on line II1I of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a View similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the action of the mechanism during a rivet setting operation;

FIG. 4 is a view of FIG. 3 as seen from the left side; and

FIG. 5 is a view in side elevation, partly broken away, illustrating the method of rendering the mandrel gripping mechanism accessible for adjustment or repair.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a rivet setting tool 1%) which is particularly adapted to set rivets of the type having a hollow barrel 12 flayed at one end, with a headed mandrel 14 disposed therein, the setting of the rivet being accomplished by pulling the mandrel head 16 into the rivet to distend the diameter of the barrel at its lower end until a weakened section of the mandrel permits it to separate and terminate distention of the barrel.

In the illustrated embodiment, the tool comprises a housing formed of a single piece of sheet metal bent to provide a base 18 and a pair of side walls 29 extending upwardly from the base in spaced relation. Near the forward end of the tool an embossment 22 is formed in the base to provide a rivet setting anvil which has a central aperture 24 to receive and guide a rivet mandel as will appear hereinafter. In the illustrated embodiment the base 18 and side walls 20 of the frame extend rearwardly to provide an integral first operating handle 26.

A second operating handle comprising a lever 28 is formed of a U-shaped piece of sheet metal with its forward end disposed between the upper end of the side walls 20, and fulcrumed on the side walls by a pin 30, the other end of the lever normally extending rearwardly in cooperating relation to the first handle 26.

To provide means for gripping a rivet mandrel and applying tension thereto, a drawbar 32 has a pivotal connection for pendulous movement on the second operating 3,1542% Patented Oct. 27, 1964 lever 28 by a pivot pin 33 disposed forwardly of the pivot pin 30, said drawbar being formed of a single piece of sheet metal bent on itself to provide a forwardly projecting U-shaped mandrel gripping bend portion 34 and a pair of side portions 36 at its lower end. To insure proper spacing of said side portions and to assist in guiding broken rivet mandrels out of the housing after the rivet is set, a pair of opposing interengaging embossments 38 are provided in the side portions 36.

Disposed between the side portions 36 is a mandrel gripping jaw 40 which is pivoted at the rear end to the side portions 36 by pin 42, with the forward end having mandrel gripping serrations 44, and being disposed in suitable spaced relation to the inside of said U-shaped bend portion 34 to permit the gripping of a mandrel therebetween as will appear hereinafter To limit the movement of the jaw 4d, the forward end thereof may be provided with an aperture 46, receiving a pin 48 exetnding between the side portions 36.

The serrated portion of the jaw 40 is generally arcuate with the center, indicated by the cross mark 47, of its curvature above the axis of the pin 42 to cause upward pivoting of the jaw to increase the distance between said serrated portion, and the opposite surface of the U- shaped bend portion inside the drawbar 32 to release a rivet mandrel, whereas downward pivoting of the jaw tends to decrease said distance with a gripping action on a rivet mandrel.

To bias the handles apart and the jaw 48 to its downward mandrel gripping position, and also to maintain the drawbar in the proper aligned relation to the aperture 24 for a smooth application of tension on the rivet mandrel, a single U-shaped spring 59 composed of flat material is provided, having the end of one leg retained on the operating lever pin 3t), and the end of the other leg seated in a suitable notch 52 in the upper side of the forward end of the jaw. The central portion 54 of the spring projects between the handles and slightly beyond the side walls 20 for a purpose to appear hereinafter, and in the assembled condition, the legs being flexed together apply a downward biasing force to the jaw 40, which is pivoted on the pin 33 forwardly of the pin 30 to apply a forward biasing force to the lower end of the drawbar 32.

To prepare the tool to receive a rivet mandrel, the operating lever 23 is raised, so that the drawbar is moved downwardly to cause one end of the jaw 40, which extends below the drawbar, to seat against the base 18. As the drawbar moves downwardly thereafter, the jaw opens, to permit a rivet mandrel to be inserted readily through the aperture 24 into the space between the end of the jaw and the U-shaped gripping portion 34. It will be noted that this space between the jaw and the U-shaped gripping portion is positioned in approximate alignment with the aperture 24 and the pin 33 by the combined action of the spring 50 and the operating lever 28. Before the drawbar has moved downwardly far enough for the jaw to contact the base 18, the spring 50 urges the drawbar forwardly toward the anvil 22, so that the U- shaped bend portion is forced by the spring against an abutment 56 disposed between the side walls 20 at the forward end of the tool. The position of the abutment is adjusted to enable a closer approximation of alignment between the aperture and the mandrel of a rivet inserted in the drawbar.

At about the time the jaw has contacted the base 18, the motion of the pivot 33 acquires a lateral component, due to the fact that the pivot 33 is beginning to move beneath its pivot pin 30 as a center, so that the upper end of the drawbar is moved slightly to the right, as seen in FIG. 1. The U-shaped gripping portion is thereby moved 3 slightly away from the abutment 56 in a rearward direction for a purpose to appear hereinafter.

The insertion of the rivet mandrel moves the jaw somewhat further rearwardly, so that the jaw presses against the mandrel due to the biasing effect of spring 50. Thereafter, as the drawbar is retracted by bringing the handles together, pressure of the jaw on the mandrel causes the jaw immediately to grip the mandrel by a wedging action against the inside of the U-shaped gripping portion 34.

The drawbar, being free of contact with the abutment 56 as tension is applied to the mandrel, is thereby capable of whatever further lateral adjustment is necessary to align the gripped mandrel by reason of the tension in it with the aperture 24 in the anvil, as increasing tension is applied, the drawbar swinging automatically to accommodate an exact alignment. In this way a uniform distention of the rivet is obtanied, limited only by the breaking strength of the mandrel at a weakened section close to the rivet in a known manner, the major portion of the broken mandrel remaining in the grip of the jaws. Usually the broken mandrel drops out of the grip of the jaws when the handles are released, but occasionally breakage of the mandrel is accompanied with jamming or clogging of the jaws from other cause so that the mandrel is not immediately released.

One of the features of the present invention is in the fact that the drawbar 32 can readily be swung rearwardly far enough to permit the jaw mechanism to project out from between the side walls 20, so as to be accessible for replacement, repair or removal of the broken off end of the mandrel, in case of jamming of the parts.

This may be accomplished without removal of any of the tool parts, merely by lifting upwardly on both the central V portion 54 of the spring, which serves as a key and the operating handle 28 to move them together as far as possible away from the handle 26, so that the drawbar swings clear of the base 18 rearwardly and upwardly until it projects out from beneath the side walls 20'of the housing. When projecting outwardly from between the side walls the pins 42 and 48 may readily be slipped from position to disassemble the jaw 40 or a jammed end of a separated rivet mandrel may be removed readily.

The drawbar mechanism may then be returned to the operative position by simply rotating the operating handle lever 28 back to its normal position, whereby the drawbar swings back into the housing so that the reverse bend portion bears against the abutment 56.

To prevent the handle 26 from squeezing the fingers of an operator against the handle lever 28, the side walls 20 of the housing are formed with opposite reverse bends 58 (see FIG. 4) at a mid-position, and a pair of tabs 60 are cut out of the sheet metal along the bend'to limit the movement of the lever 28 by engagement with the ends of the tabs. These tabs do not in any way interfere with the movement of the drawbar into and out of the housing because the drawbar fits into the narrower part of the housing where it is guided between the tabs.

Since certain obvious changes may be made in the illustrated embodiment of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A manually operable tool for setting separable mandrel rivets, said tool comprising;

a housing having an integral first operating handle,

a pair of spaced side walls, and

an anvil formed with an aperture to guide the mandrel of a rivet to be set.

a drawbar providing a U-shaped mandrel gripping portion at its lower end,

a jaw pivoted to the drawbar for gripping the mandrel 4 of a rivet against the gripping portion,

a second handle comprising a lever fulcrumed between the side walls of the housing and having a pivotal connection to the upper end of the drawbar to enable pendulous movement of the drawbar on the lever to bring a. rivet mandrel gripped within the drawbar auto matically into alignment with the aperture in the anvil by reason of tension in the mandrel as the handles are drawn together and, as the handles are separated after setting the rivet, to cause the drawbar to swing out from between the side walls of the housing to a position where a broken end of the mandrel may readily V be removed from the drawbar, and

a single spring means for simultaneously biasing the operating handles apart and the mandrel gripping jaw into gripping position.

2. A manually operable tool for setting separable mandrel rivets, said tool comprising;

a housing having an integral first operating handle,

a pair of spaced side walls, and

an anvil formed with an aperture to guide the mandrel of a rivet to be set,

a drawbar providing a U-shaped mandrel gripping portion at its lower end,

a jaw pivoted to the drawbar for gripping the mandrel of a rivet against the gripping portion of the drawbar, a second handle comprising a lever fulcrumed between the side walls of the housing and having a pivotal connection tosthe upper end of the drawbar for pendulous movement of the drawbar on the lever to bring a rivet mandrel gripped within the drawbar automatically into alignment with the aperture in the anvil by reason of tension in the mandrel as the handles are drawn together, and i a single spring having one end retained on the fulcrum of the second handle and the other end seated on the mandrel gripping jaw for simultaneously biasing the operating handles apart and the gripping jaws into approximate alignment with the aperture in the anvil.

3. A manually operable tool for setting separable mandrel rivets, as in claim 2, which there is provided,

an abutment in the housing against which the drawbar is forced by the spring into approximate alignment with the aperture of the anvil.

4. A manually operable tool for setting separable mandrel rivets, as in claim 3, in which the spring is Ushaped and composed of flat material having one leg retained on the fulcrum for the operating handle lever and the other leg seated on the mandrel gripping jaw, the central U portion of the spring being arranged to project between the handles and beyond the side walls of the housing.

5. A manually operable tool for setting separable mandrel rivets, as in claim 4, in which the projecting U portion of the spring serves as a key when lifted upwardly with the handle lever to assist in swinging the drawbar out'from between the side walls of the housing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,216,767 10/40 Davitow 218-42 3,003,657 10/61 Siebol et a1. 21842 3,048,296 8/2 Heidenwolf 21842 FOREIGN PATENTS 542,382 1/42 Great Britain.

88,268 Norway.

GRANVILLE CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner.

ARTHUR M. HORTON, Examiner. 

2. A MANUALLY OPERABLE TOOL FOR SETTING SEPARABLE MANDREL RIVETS, SAID TOOL COMPRISING; A HOUSING HAVING AN INTEGRAL FIRST OPERATING HANDLE, A PAIR OF SPACED SIDE WALLS, AND AN ANVIL FORMED WITH AN APERTURE TO GUIDE THE MANDREL OF A RIVET TO BE SET, A DRAWBAR PROVIDING A U-SHAPED MANDREL GRIPPING PORTION AT ITS LOWER END, A JAW PIVOTED TO THE DRAWBAR FOR GRIPPING THE MANDREL OF A RIVET AGAINST THE GRIPPING PORTION OF THE DRAWBAR, A SECOND HANDLE COMPRISING A LEVER FULCRUMED BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS OF THE HOUSING AND HAVING A PIVOTAL CONNECTION TO THE UPPER END OF THE DRAWBAR FOR PENDULOUS MOVEMENT OF THE DRAWBAR ON THE LEVER TO BRING A RIVET MANDREL GRIPPED WITHIN THE DRAWBAR AUTOMATICALLY INTO ALIGNMENT WITH THE APERTURE IN THE ANVIL BY REASON OF TENSION IN THE MANDREL AS THE HANDLES ARE DRAWN TOGETHER, AND A SINGLE SPRING HAVING ONE END RETAINED ON THE FULCRUM OF THE SECOND HANDLE AND THE OTHER END SEATED ON THE MANDREL GRIPPING JAW FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY BIASING THE OPERATING HANDLES APART AND THE GRIPPING JAWS INTO APPROXIMATE ALIGNMENT WITH THE APERTURE IN THE ANVIL. 